


choses qu’on apprend en aimant

by prettylilbrownskingyal



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: But only if you squint, Established Relationship, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Not Beta Read, it gets angsty for a sec but not really, just two bros inexplicably in love with each other, lonely that's what she is, two fics in one day who is she?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:14:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24935878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prettylilbrownskingyal/pseuds/prettylilbrownskingyal
Summary: five things Zuko learns while loving Sokka
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 286





	choses qu’on apprend en aimant

**Author's Note:**

> clown me on tumblr :)
> 
> [@prettylilbrownskingyal](https://prettylittlebrownskingyal.tumblr.com/)

_ he gets cold easily  _

Sokka loves the glaciers of the South Pole. He loves the sting of the icy winds, the bite of snow against bare skin. The air is crisp and cool and challenging and more than anything else, it’s the essence of home. 

He can’t pretend, however, to find maddening joy in the cold as Katara does. He’d never admit it but in all their travels, he’d come to prefer warmer temperatures of Earth Kingdom springs and Fire Nation summers. It’s purely a matter of prioritizing comfort yet his pride makes it difficult to truly do so. 

Thus, he’s left holding his furs closer to his person, doing his best to fight back shivers as he walks alongside his chattering family. Hakoda and Katara are completely comfortable trudging through the stinging cold snow. It makes Sokka feel just a tad inadequate, looking at them. Almost like he’s an outsider. So, he fights desperately to hide his chattering teeth and trembling hands. 

And of course, Zuko notices. Because when he doesn’t have the weight of a nation resting on his shoulders he’s most content to spend his time looking at Sokka. And he’s quite enamoured watching him walk the newly built streets of the Southern Watertribe town— cheeks flushed and nose pink, brown skin turning bronze under the filtered sunlight. As he picks up on the rigidity in Sokka’s spine and the crestfallen look in his eyes, Zuko doesn’t comment. He wraps an arm around his waist instead, digs his nose into Sokka’s collar and huffs a warm breath of air across his skin, encapsulating his shivering form in gentle heat. 

Later Sokka will let Zuko pull him close and he’ll use his words to beg for Zuko to keep him warm through the night with more than just his breath. Later Zuko will bend to his will, with hands and mouth and tongue— and he’ll fight to keep Sokka warm.

  
  


_ he might be a member of the white lotus _

“Where are you going?”

Sokka’s quick pace comes to a screeching halt at the door of the tiny apartment they’d sought out in the middle ring of the Ba Sing Se. He gives a shy laugh as he turns to Zuko, his face already betraying him more than the pai sho tile that has slipped out of his grip. It sits on the carpet between them, gleaming in the lamplight. “Just you know, to walk the dragon baby.”

“Really?”

“Yep.”

“At midnight.”

“Well…I mean— I,” Sokka stammers. “She’s restless.”

“Sokka we don’t have a dragon baby.”

“Not yet.” He quirks an eyebrow and throws a wink Zuko’s way. “We could make one.”

“No, we can’t!”

  
  
  


_ he finds happiness in the little things _

The sands of Ember Island are warm under the loving caress of the summer sunshine. In the gentle fragrant breeze, the trees sway to a silent rhythm that mimics that easy dance of the green-blue waves. It’s quite peaceful. They settle onto the soft fabric laid out on the shore with a shared, quiet contentment. 

Zuko rubs the rugged material of the shell in his palm lightly, steeling himself against an echo of past rejection before presenting it to Sokka with a lowered gaze. 

“Zuko!” 

And then he has an armful of sandy Sokka in his lap, soft kisses being pressed to his cheeks.

“I love seashells! And this one is so pretty, thank you, babe!”

_ when he loves, he loves till his last breath _

Zuko finds him on the highest balcony of the palace, head tilted up to the moon. He’s bathed in the gilded silver rays, imbued by her light. 

There are tears on his cheeks that Zuko longs to wipe away but he cannot bring himself to break the private moment being shared. Instead he lingers, says a prayer to the spirits and Yue for guidance and good health and finds within him a reminder that he’s a recipient of that same love that Sokka shares with the lunar entity. So is Suki. Those are things that he cannot change.

What he can do is give as good as he gets because sooner or later Sokka may stand in these halls shedding tears for him too.

  
  


_ he’s still terrible at public speaking _

Zuko knows he’s been zoned out for most of the meeting. But who could blame him, really? 

They’ve already decided on the plans for the educational reform project. The only delay that hindered progress was the desire to retain archaic values that few members of his parliament chose to uphold. Continuous discussion in repetitive circles was taking them nowhere. He hoped that today would be the last of it all as he straightened up to listen to Sokka speak. He felt only a little guilty that it was his friend’s voice he made the effort to listen too, but the guilt was quickly sequestered.

“—perpetuated by the Father Lord Oz—“ and Sokka’s eyes go wide. He flounders for words and then quickly goes still when they don’t come.

Zuko stuffs his fist in his mouth to stifle the laugh that came, ducking his head behind his sleeve to quickly bring his face to neutral ground. He had to step in quickly and save his friend from certain embarrassment.

“I believe what Ambassador Sokka is trying to say is Fire Lord Ozai has left quite a mark on the content that is routinely taught in academic environments throughout the homeland and as well as in the colonies. Its is our duty to rid the system of such propaganda and start anew with the previously discussed regime that is not only historically accurate—” Zuko pauses to sneak a quick glance at Sokka who nods in encouragement as their eyes meet. Behind him, Ty Lee offers a thumbs up. “But also culturally diverse and inclusive. The youth are the future of our nation, after all.”

He breathes a sigh of relief as a collective murmur of agreement goes around the room, reaching over to clap a supportive hand on Sokka’s shoulder.

  
  
  



End file.
